Ms Carol Anne Coolican:

The Law Society of Ireland has made a comprehensive submission to the Minister in terms of the future for family law and it encompasses many of the queries raised by Deputy Mac Lochlainn. If the committee does not already have that available then we can certainly forward it to the committee.

A pilot project has been run on mediation with the assistance of the Courts Service and the Legal Aid Board and it has been effective in channelling people to a better result all round. Mediation has worked where people have gone through it. One of the findings of the review was that most people did not approach mediation for one reason: they did not believe the other side will go. It was not that they did not trust it or did not know what it was about and it was not a question that it would not work. It was a case of one side taking the view that the other would not go. When a mediation information session was made available to people and they availed of the service they were diverted from the courts and this was better all round for them. Perhaps if that could be rolled out, it could lead to a far more cost-effective way and it would be better for the families involved.